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Chirac plans to end France's state of emergency

PARIS — President Jacques Chirac plans this week to lift the state of emergency declared during a three-week wave of rioting and arson attacks in urban centers and run-down suburbs across France last autumn, his office announced in a statement Monday.

The government is expected to approve the measure at a cabinet meeting Tuesday, the statement said. The state of emergency would be ended the next day.

Youths, mostly from housing projects in France's poor suburbs, set fire to an estimated 9,000 vehicles during unrest that started in late October. The government had warned last week of a possible flare-up of violence over the New Year period, but celebrations passed without serious incident.

The state of emergency - imposed on Nov. 8 and extended for three months on Nov. 21 - allowed the police to use curfews and other measures to stop the mayhem, France's worst civil unrest since massive street protests in 1968.

Chirac made the decision to lift the state of emergency during a meeting Monday with Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin to assess security in the country, the president's office said.

"The president received the prime minister this morning for a general review of the situation," the statement said. "Following the meeting, the president of the republic decided to end the state of emergency from January 4, 2006."